"I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team where I was like yeah, we need to just …" Paul stopped as he drew laughs. "Yeah, no. Just never been the case."

Paul has been traded three times, but never midseason.

"Control what you can control," Paul said of the deadline. "That’s the name of it. I don’t even remember all the trades that have happened in my career."

The 34-year-old point guard is in line to make $41.3 million next season and $44.2 million in 2021-22.

Paul is shooting 47.7 percent from the floor — his highest percentage since 2014-15 — but his contract is still a weight some teams won't be willing to bear.

Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder and Danilo Gallinari remain the Thunder players to watch as speculation intensifies ahead of the deadline.

"Nobody should pay attention to that," Schroder said Tuesday. "It's a business. When something happens and Sam (Presti) calls us, then we just gotta move forward. Right now I think everyone is in a good place."

Adams said there's always a "tension" before the trade deadline. Rather than sifting through rumors, the Thunder center is waiting to hear from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Oklahoma City's Chris Paul (3) reacts after a 3-point basket to end the third quarter during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Atlanta Hawks at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City,Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. [Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman]

Joe Mussatto

Joe Mussatto joined The Oklahoman in August 2018 to cover OU football, men’s basketball and softball. He previously covered University of Kentucky football and basketball for SEC Country.
Mussatto is from Oklahoma City and lives in Norman.
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